I'm sure that even people with the most positive of dispositions find
it hard to look beyond the near future with any real optimism. Maybe
humans by nature tend not to think that far ahead anyway, preferring
to focus on the here and now instead, which is understandable.
Western governments and multinationals are certainly very limited in
their long term planning, with the latter prioritising short term
profit above everything else. Attitudes in the East, particularly
China, seem to be much more adept at long term planning, sometimes
thinking many generations ahead. But, it is this general lack of
consideration for the future that further exacerbates the problems
that the planet faces and will continue to face with increasing
urgency.
It is problems that we are already confronted with which in my
reckoning will, without urgent attention, cause untold suffering to
the world, barely leaving any corners untouched. In fact, these
particular problems are already having a devastating affect on some
peoples lives. Over-population, diminishing natural resources, and
climate change. These three issues are not unrelated to each other,
they work in combination, one fuelling the other. Neither are these
issues foreign or obscure, they are well known to everyone, certainly
throughout the developed world, maybe to a lesser extent in the
developing world where poverty reduction seems more relevant.
To many the world is already over-populated, with many of people's
basic needs such as food and water not being met. Whether you think
that this is a population problem or just bad management of the earth's
resources, it's hard to deny that if the current population growth
trends continue, we will certainly be unable to provide for massive
parts of the world's population, with increased famine being just one
of the awful consequences we will be confronted with. We have limited
natural resources, whether that be oil, gas, minerals or fish stocks,
we all know this. Yet we continue to largely ignore this fact,
choosing to up our consumption of such resources, while limiting our
investment in greener renewable alternatives. Through increased Co2
levels, animal agriculture, deforestation, as well as many other
factors, we are affecting climate change which is upsetting the
natural balance of the planet.
It is the combination of these three ever-growing problems,
over-population, dwindling natural resources, and climate change,
together with what seems to be mankind's short-sightedness and thirst
for confrontation and conflict, that will bring about such terrifying
consequences: major natural disasters and large scale war.
Extreme weather patterns due to a warming in the earth's temperature
and a rise in sea levels, are something we are already familiar with,
but these are likely to increase in volume and severity in the
future. With droughts, hurricanes, and monsoons killing more and more
people, as well as wildlife. There is also likely to be a rise in
volcano eruptions and earthquakes. The world, simply put, will become
much less hospitable, making survival an uphill battle.
Probably more worrying, at least in terms of the immediate
destruction it can cause, is a world that turns to war in pursuit of
the world's dwindling resources. This is not simply paranoia or an
over-the-top prediction of an apocalyptic end to the world. The
history of humankind is littered with war and violence, even our more
recent history is no exception, with advanced modern countries
showing the same disregard for human life and lust for destruction.
The most striking of differences the technologically driven modern
world has compared with the past is the array and destructiveness of
its weapons, not least nuclear weapons which have now become
prolific.
Some argue that nuclear weapons, which now several countries possess,
have brought about a certain amount of stability. I believe there is
some truth in this, after all, one country tends not to attack
another country if they are able to respond with a nuclear threat.
But given that the worlds growing population, who have a propensity
for war, is running out of resources, it's doesn't take much of a
leap to argue that nations may engage in war over these resources. I
would like to be optimistic about our future here on earth, but the
logical part of my brain tells me there will be wars, continuous,
brutal and probably nuclear world wars. Unless we get are shit
together, the world in 50 years time will be no picnic!
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